


Cult of the Princesses

by sheeva



Category: Barbie - All Media Types, Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses
Genre: Blood, Cult, Dark Magic, Demon Summoning, Demonic Possession, Eventual Romance, F/M, Heaven & Hell, Horror, Human Sacrifice, Occult, Summoning Circles, spells
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 14:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18758185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheeva/pseuds/sheeva
Summary: The princesses meddle in dark magic, and together form a cult. Each princess is important to the cult in their own way, but they are haunted by their decisions.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the first few chapters will be short, as they are just intro chapters for the characters. the actual story will come into play after the intro chapters are done.

Chapter 1  
Ashlyn

Music is such a wonderful thing. It’s an escape, a dissociation from reality, just like the hidden place was. When she played a song on her flute, it was so calming it was almost unsettling. The high pitches of the instrument radiated an eerie tone, even if it wasn’t meant to be that way. Her thin fingers danced from key to key, notes of hypnotizing music travelling through the midnight air. She liked to do this alone, but rarely did she ever get a chance to. Ashlyn had duties as a cult leader, and that meant spending almost all of her time around her dear sisters who she guided down such a twisted path. The moment her lips left the metal of her flute, her eyes darted up to scan her surroundings, which was the spacious backyard garden. The moon cast a dull glow onto the courtyard, and illuminated a pair of eyes that were staring right back. So, her song really had worked. She’d have to make sure to alert her family right away, but not before dabbling with these dark arts on her own, of course. Her calm and collected demeanor never faltered as she stood up from the stone bench, and met eyes with the shadowy entity before her.   
“Hello. My name is Ashlyn, you heard my song, yes?” She spoke clearly and simply.   
The floating creature became erratic, and cast a menacing gaze down at the flute in Ashlyn’s hands.   
“Oh, you’d like to hear it again?” Her answer was quite obvious when the creature calmed down, and she lifted the instrument back up to her parted lips.   
The tune began again, calming enough to ease the most twisted of minds, even that of an unknown being. The being became sucked into the melody, and disappeared inside the end of Ashlyn’s flute, and gradually down her throat. She had to stay calm, there was absolutely no time to panic. Her shaky hands dropped her flute, which promptly clattered to the ground in a loud clash with the stone. Ashlyn’s deep green eyes disappeared into a solid white void, and for a moment, all the could hear was the sound of a voice whispering into her ear. It was hard to understand, and only a few words could be heard through the awful static that resonated in her head.   
“.....Agony…...Sacrifice…….Music…….Hidden…..Geranium….” 

As soon as the voice shut off, the entity removed itself from Ashlyn’s body, and disappeared without another word. Upon regaining her breath, her face went white, and a sickly black colored vomit poured from her mouth, and stained her purple dress beyond belief. The ugly black pile stood out like a sore thumb against the pale concrete, even during the nighttime. Her brief possession had drained her of energy more than she ever thought was possible. She leaned down to pick up her flute, and turned on her heels to head back to the castle. Everyone else was probably asleep at this hour, so she’d likely just throw this dress away, and replace it with another that was exactly identical. There was no use in trying to get that stain out. She entered the castle, with a sour taste tainting her mouth.


	2. Blair

Somewhere along the way she must’ve stopped, but it’d slipped her mind. She’d never really been one to think before she did.. anything. No wonder she fought with everyone so often. 

“Oi! Miss! What are you doing out so late?” A man approached her on horseback, clad in leather armor. 

Blair quickly stood back up on her feet, and brushed some invisible dust off of her striking red dress. “I’m afraid that’s none of your business!” She chimed back, and threatened to mount her own horse.

“Feisty, are we? Alright then, I’ll leave you alone. But, do yourself a favor and go home soon! It’s not safe at night, especially when you’re alone,” The man snapped the reigns of his horse, and rode away down the dirt path, probably towards a village. 

She chuckled absentmindedly, and picked up her brown satchel from the ground. 

“Stupid man.. You underestimate me,” She said, even though he was long gone now. 

Blair was the guardian of the cult, due to her bold and abrasive personality, and her ability to intimidate nearly anyone. Her sisters trusted her with their lives, even more so than Ashlyn, who was the eldest. Blair was also skilled in horseback riding, and, just like tonight, she’d make long journeys to collect occult items from various towns. Being out alone didn’t scare her, not in the least. 

Her bright blue eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as she scanned the area, thankfully, she was alone now. She rummaged through her satchel for a brief moment, sighing in relief that everything she’d collected was still there. 

A bottle of lambs blood, a larkspur flower, seven candles, a scroll with a chant in a forbidden tongue. 

Just the essentials, of course. 

She slung her satchel over her shoulder, and mounted her white horse with ease. Her sisters definitely wouldn’t be worried about her, they knew she could handle herself. The road was dark and dreadfully long when she really looked at it, it was almost an ego boost. She really could handle anything, couldn’t she? Blair snapped the reigns of her horse, and began to ride, top speed, without stopping again. It was late, wasn’t it? Late enough for the entities to stir.


	3. Courtney

Her sisters swore she was nocturnal, but that wasn’t necessarily the case, she just enjoyed being alone. Although, she did spend a fair share of her days asleep, and most of the nights awake.. studying and reading until her heart’s content. 

Courtney flipped a page of her book, the sound of the paper rustling was the only thing that could be heard in the castle’s library so late at night. Her hazel eyes scanned the lore written on the pages, talk of summoning, rituals and discovery. It was all so fascinating to her. The pleasure of teaching her sisters how to do all of this was all hers; she absolutely loved sharing her knowledge. 

She was so deep into the current book she was reading, she was blissfully unaware that a shadow was looming over her. How strange.. who could have let that in? The creature approached her from behind, closing in on her blue silhouette that was seated at her desk. She was oblivious, still reading away like nothing was wrong. And just as the unknown being was about to tangle itself into her dark brown hair, the back door of the library slammed open, and it disappeared in an instant. 

“Of course you’re awake! Go to bed, Courtney,” Blair said as she shut the door behind her. 

The sudden loud noise caused the focused princess to jump up from her seat, but quickly calm down again when she realized it was only her sister. 

“I was just about to..” She nodded slightly, and closed her book, which she promptly picked up and decided she’d read in bed. “Goodnight, Blair! I’m glad you’re home safe,” 

“You know I always am,” Blair responded, and watched as Courtney hurried off to bed. 

The air in the room was oddly thick. Weird. Even after Courtney was gone, she didn’t feel alone.


	4. Delia

It was exceptionally rare to find Delia without her counterpart, but every once and awhile, it was necessary. Her twin was.. just a bit too uncoordinated when it came to these things sometimes. 

No one really came to the castle’s basement so late at night except for her, when she needed to be alone. She made sure Edeline was asleep first; she couldn’t bare to hurt her feelings. 

On her knees, she crouched before a pentagram that was drawn in the dirt, illuminated by a circle of candles. Courtney had taught her how to do all of this, but Delia was always the first to want to try. Her adventurous nature was her favorite trait that she had, and everyone agreed that she put it to good use. 

“I give you blood..”

She picked up her personal stash of lambs blood, and dropped a single drop into the middle of the pentagram. A shadow-like mist surrounded the young woman and her creation, the aura was nothing short of sinister.

“Bestow upon me eternal life, O’ mighty God,” 

The mist was heavy and hard to breathe in- It was choking her. A nameless cloud of moving blackness curled into the Princess’s vision, and out came a barely audible voice. 

“Eternal life.. Is a lot to ask for. You really believe you have the right to demand such a thing, Delia?”

“Of course! I just.. have to live forever! I have so much I want to do and see in the world, and there’s not enough time..” She clasped her hands together. 

She sharply tried to inhale before she began to speak again, but the black air filled her lungs in an instant. Her green eyes filled up with desperation and silent pleads, and began to spill a reddish black liquid from her tear ducts. 

She was surely going to die. 

“Delia!” A voice brought her back to consciousness briefly, and her blurry vision fell upon her beloved twin sister. 

Edeline rushed into the small room, and to her sister’s side. She pulled out a small dropper of holy water from her dress pocket, and roughly held open Delia’s eyes, and dropped a single drop of the sacred liquid into her eyes. The blonde princess was silent for a moment, before a blood curdling shriek left her glossy lips. Whatever she’d summoned was gone, at least for now. 

Delia laid limp in Edeline’s arms, who was only thankful that she’d gotten here in time. 

“I got the sense you were going to try something ridiculous tonight.. Thank goodness I listened to it. Didn’t Courtney warn you how dangerous it is to demand things from higher powers? Especially something like eternal life. You did this before! Remember last time, when you nearly went up in flames? You’ve like, got to be more careful!” Edeline rambled as Delia slowly returned to her normal self.

“Edeline.. You are so much more of a clutz than me, I guess I just don’t know when to stop..” 

The brunette princess helped her sister up, and they began to head back up towards the bedroom. 

“But.. thanks for saving me.” 

“Duh! I always will!” Edeline smiled and clasped her hands together, twirling around in excitement. Delia promptly crashed to the floor when her support disappeared. 

“Oh, no! I’m sorry!” Edeline gasped, and reached down to help her sister up, but of course, she fell to the ground as well. 

Delia shook her head slowly. “You’re a mess.”


	5. Edeline

Leaving her alone was the first mistake. This night had already been incredibly hectic, but that wouldn’t deter the adventurous Edeline from stirring up some more trouble. Of course, she didn’t mean to, it just always happened.. one way or another. 

Edeline was helping as best she could, putting away the items that Blair had retrieved this very night. No one asked her too, but she still wanted to help. She always wanted to help. 

Her elegantly painted fingers picked up the jar of lambs blood in one hand, and Blair’s sacred larkspur flower in the other. On her way to the cabinet to put them away, her curiosity peaked. 

“This is sooo cool..!” She enthused, being sure to keep her voice down. The bedroom was full of her sleeping sisters, and she had no intentions to wake them. Alas, it was inevitable. 

She held up the bottle of blood to the window, letting the moonlight shine through and illuminate the red color. It was a beautiful sight; Edeline felt so lucky to get to see it with her own eyes. 

But of course, these moments of peace never did last with someone like Edeline. 

As she began to turn back around, her foot caught the satchel of items that laid on the ground, and sent the bottle of blood toppling to the ground as she tripped. It shattered in an instant, and the larkspur flower landed directly in the center of the growing puddle of blood. 

Blair..

“Oh.. No! Oh no!” She whispered in panic, her eyes darting from sister to sister, hoping silently that they wouldn’t wake. 

The larkspur seemed to glow, and the only princess that rose from her slumber was Blair. 

“What.. did you.. do?!” Blair covered her mouth, and through her fingers, blood leaked from her mouth. 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to.. I was just-” Edeline paused in horror, watching as Blair fell to her knees and convulsed more blood. 

That can’t be good.. She shouldn’t lose that much blood! 

Edeline scrambled over to the satchel on the ground, digging around for anything that could save her sister. She had absolutely no idea what to do.. If only Delia were here.

She pulled out the scroll with words written in a language forgotten by man, and desperately began to recite them. She had no clue what it meant, or what this was used for, but maybe it would help. 

It was her only option. 

As the last few words left her tongue, the blood on the ground sunk into the floor, and the larkspur shriveled up and disintegrated in an instant. 

“Blair..?” 

“I’m fine.” 

The black-haired princess looked up from the ground, blood still coating the front of her dress, and all of her pearly white teeth.

“Thank god! I’m so sorry.. I don’t know what I did!” She ran over to help Blair up, and wiped some of the blood off of the corners of her mouth. 

“Edeline, just go to bed. 

“But..!” 

“Go. to. bed.” 

And off she went.


	6. Fallon

Only someone with true talent could make something so dark.. so beautiful. Love and hate were two sides of the same coin, that’s what she always told herself. Love could be so perfect, so joyful and hopeful, but in an instant, it could ruin your life. She knew the power of love better than anyone, and knowingly, she didn’t put it to any good use. 

Her pen dripped with ink as she removed it from the inkwell, and it met the paper again gracefully.

The emotions you feel bring joy to you  
Yet.. you have no problem making us feel blue  
We could cry together, and you’re to blame   
So, that’s what you’re after. Fame?  
It’s quite alright, please keep it up   
For soon.. you will be out of luck. 

Fallon folded up the cryptic words, and held it gently between her pink painted fingertips. She rose from her bed, and headed out into the unlit hallways of the castle. The dark didn’t scare her.. nothing really did. She didn’t look at the world the way her sisters did. Material objects weren’t to be feared, but the powers of the mind, emotions, and especially love.. were indeed something to be frightened of. 

She reached Rowena’s bedroom, and found her lying still in her bed. 

‘How can she sleep so peacefully.. knowing what a monster she is..’ 

Fallon placed the folded poem on the woman’s nightstand before quickly making her way back out of the room. If she got caught, it’d ruin everything. Fallon loved the aspect of mystery. 

She returned to the dark hallways, humming a quiet tune to a song she didn’t know. She twisted and twirled down the hallways with beauty and grace.. it was a shame that something always had to ruin moments like these. 

A whisper filled the hallways and seemingly stopped her in her tracks, but unnervingly, there was still a calm smile across her face. 

“Shh..” And from her lips... she whispered a poem in a language no man understood. A language that could make children cry. A language that could make you feel like you’re never alone. A language that paralyze you with an unknown fear. Something only Fallon could ever bare. 

The whispers were gone, thank goodness. 

The princess, clad in pink, reached the bedroom finally, and entered with an unchanging smile across her pretty face. 

“Fallon..? You okay?” That voice came from Edeline. 

“I’m lovely! Sleep tight, Edeline,” She replied, and headed off to bed.


	7. Genevieve

The art of summoning was really something to behold, but the way she mastered it was even more so. Even her sisters who all helped in their own way, could not match her skills. She didn’t know a single person who could speak to the unholy the way she could, and that’s just how she liked it. She was absolutely the best. One of the youngest, too, and still the best. 

Her bare feet left bloody footprints on the cool stone as she hopped from left to right, elegant movements coming to her so naturally. It was seemingly effortless for her to hoist herself up onto her toes, and twirl and spin with ease and grace. 

This was the courtyard gazebo, right? Where even was she? She’d forgotten. She’d dissociated into a mindset that was nearly nothing but white noise. Her body was moving on its own, but her mind was somewhere else. 

A jar of blood laid on it side, spilled out across the stone of the gazebo floor, where Genevieve danced beautifully. Like it was normal. 

Inside of her mind, she saw herself. She was looking in a radiant mirror, hand-carved, and painted golden. She looked normal, nothing was too out of place, but when she blinked, her reflection did not. Genevieve tipped her head to the side, and watched as her reflection remained motionless. So, she was trapped? 

How do I set myself free..? 

“Sacrifice..”

She fell to the floor. 

“Oh! Ouch..” She slowly rose from the ground as she snapped back into her own consciousness. Blood stained the back of her dress, and the palms of her hands from her unfortunate fall, but it was bound to happen. 

She thought quietly about what she’d seen, and what she could do about her fate. If anyone could change fate, it’d be her. 

Her blue eyes met the full moon, and a pearly smile flashed in the moonlight. She held up the front of her dress, and disappeared into the gardens of the castle in an instant.


	8. Establishing Dominance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the story begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the first chapter of the actual story! it starts here

The way they all held hands should’ve been endearing, but it was far from it. Every last one of them.. was evil. He didn’t really mind too much, though, he was mostly oblivious to the schemes they indulged in. Derek just wanted to be their friend, was all. 

“Oookay, is it go time?!” Edeline’s excited voice broke the silence. 

“Uh-huh! You all know what to do,” Genevieve replied, and began the sacred dance that opened the passage to their secret escape. Each of them danced so gracefully, their feet hitting their correlating flower until the stone disappeared. The look of satisfaction spread across the room, and they began their descend into the indescribable place. Derek came too, with a somewhat endearing amount of vigor. 

Could you imagine a place that was too good to be true? A utopia where everything is perfect, but controlled. You’re happy, but you aren’t free. You don’t know any better. That’s what life felt like until they discovered what they were meant to do with themselves. 

Each of the princesses climbed into the ferry before Derek did, and set them asail. The golden structure was gleaming in the distance, like it was calling all of them by name. The girls were oddly silent. Silent enough to make Derek want to break it. He gave Fallon’s shoulder a gentle tap. 

“Uh, hey. Any clue what the plans are for tonight?” He kept his voice low, eyeing the structure that was coming closer into his vision. 

“What makes you think I would tell you, I wonder? You chose to tag along, yes?” She replied, a faint playfulness to her tone. 

She was right, of course. He never really knew what compelled him to embark on these journeys with them, but here he was yet again. Only gods and demons ever saw the things he’s witnessed. 

“Yes.. I suppose I did,” He trailed off. They hit the land suddenly, and each lady set foot one by one onto the cool stone floor. Derek spaced out momentarily, mesmerized by the elegance of them all. He hadn’t even noticed that he was alone in the boat by this point.

The silhouettes of seven women caught his eyes; they were almost unrecognizable. It was dark, so dark, and hard to see who was who. Silence was so dreadfully loud. They stood completely still, calm and quiet, as if they were statues. 

“What are you waiting for?” A voice spoke. It was definitely female, but Derek couldn’t tell who it was from. He couldn’t see their lips move; he couldn’t even see their faces. 

Very hesitantly, he stepped out of the boat, and stood as close to the water’s edge as he could. Their presence was menacing, he didn’t want to approach them any further. This wasn’t them. None of this made sense. 

There was a certain whirling to the clouds. Around and around they went, in a strange direction that the wind couldn’t cause. The atmosphere was thick, so thick it was suffocating.

A girl in a blue dress approached him, a blank look across her face. Courtney, right? Courtney’s body, at least. She stood about a foot away from him, but it felt so much closer. Her presence was so massive. 

His eyes turned white for a moment, and he saw something strange. It was Genevieve, standing before a grand mirror. He took a step forward, at which he was shocked that he could move. This couldn’t be a dream, but a vision? A parallel universe? He didn’t know. Nevertheless, he approached the woman in pink. 

She didn’t turn around. Her eyes stared into her reflection, the blinding white walls of the room illuminating her expressionless face. 

“Genevieve?” Derek inquired, approaching her slowly. 

Her head slowly turned to face him, but her reflection stayed still. This sent a chill down his spine, though he looked into her eyes regardless.

“Sir Derek, what are you doing here? How did you find me?” She spoke without emotion.

Truthfully, he didn’t really know how to answer that. One moment he was there, and now he was here. It must’ve been Courtney, it had to have been. 

“I’m not quite sure, Princess. You and I.. Weren’t we both just at the secret place?” He knew she’d brought them here, it was her who initiated the dance to get here. The more he thought about it, the more it plagued him. 

“Who’s to say this is really me, and who’s to say this is really you? Do you ever grow tired of being afraid?” 

His eyes opened in an instant. 

There he stood, at the edge of the water. Shaking his head, he realized he hadn’t moved. And the Princesses? They were all dancing now. Genevieve, right alongside them, was definitely dancing right before him. He took a few wobbly steps towards the golden structure, and then sat down in the grass, back leaning against a pillar. What a beautiful sight, seven sisters dancing to a melodic tune. One that played so hypnotically, over and over again, time after time, beat after beat, step after step.. Derek had fallen asleep.


End file.
